A premium car is rarely a spur-of-the-moment purchase. Before a customer walks into the showroom, they have usually compared models, read reviews, checked prices and narrowed the choice down to a few cars. The salesperson meets them at the end of the journey, not at the beginning.
A dealer who waits for a call or a visit joins the conversation late. You have to reach the customer earlier, while they are still choosing. One way to do that is to support salespeople with tools based on artificial intelligence. Below we explain how that works and point to three things to check before rollout.
Why premium buyers decide before they enter the showroom
Someone considering a car like this has everything they need for a first choice at hand today: configurators, reviews, other drivers’ opinions and price lists. In the showroom they want to see the car in person, drive it and agree the terms of purchase. The conversation about which model to pick is often already behind them.
The showroom sees only the end of that journey. If a customer has not called or filled in a form, the dealer does not know that someone is considering a purchase. The information appears only when the customer gets in touch, and that can be too late.
That is why the moment a dealer joins the conversation matters. A dealer who gets in touch only after the customer has chosen a model starts late. The better chance goes to the one who reaches a person who is only starting to think about changing cars, and does it factually and without pressure.
The market in which premium dealerships operate is growing. According to PZPM and KPMG, 154,000 new premium-brand cars were registered in Poland in 2025, 9% more than a year earlier. Our press release also stated that nearly 70% of all new passenger cars are registered by companies.
For a dealership, that means companies are a very important group of customers. With a company it is best to talk about its specific need, without walking through the dealership’s whole range.
How finding customers with AI works
Finding customers with AI can be described, in simplified form, in three steps.
- Collecting signals. The tool analyses data the dealership can lawfully use: its own database of contacts and enquiries, visit history, and publicly available information about companies, such as sector, size or scope of activity.
- Assessing fit. An algorithm ranks prospective customers by how well they match the dealership’s offer and how likely they are to be interested. It is an estimate based on patterns and gives no certainty. A good tool shows why a given customer ended up high on the list.
- Handing over to a salesperson. The result reaches a person as a short list with reasons. The salesperson decides whether and when to get in touch, and in what tone. AI shortens the path from the question “who should I call” to the answer, but the conversation with the customer is still led by a person.
AI also has limitations. It does not know the context, it does not know that a customer has just changed their plans, and it can repeat errors from the data it works on. That is why the result is treated as a hint for the salesperson, not as a verdict.
VOLARIA AI has signed a letter of intent with MM Cars Premium, an authorised Jaguar Land Rover dealer in Warsaw. A pilot of an AI tool that finds and qualifies prospective customers is planned as the first step. We gave the details in the press release and in current report ESPI No. 14/2026. The pattern described here is general and does not determine how the tool will work in the pilot.
What a dealer should check before rollout
A tool that finds customers processes personal data and affects customer contact and the dealership’s reputation. Before it enters daily work, it is worth answering three questions.
Is the data processed in line with the GDPR? Personal data of individuals, including contact persons at companies and sole traders, stays protected even when it comes from public sources. The dealership should know on what basis it processes the data, where it comes from, to whom it has been entrusted and how long it is kept. If the tool assesses individuals, for example by estimating their interest in buying, that is profiling within the meaning of the GDPR and people have to be informed about it.
Rules on contact come on top of that. A marketing call, text message or e-mail in principle requires the recipient’s prior consent, even when a person makes the contact. If the provider processes data on the dealership’s behalf, the GDPR requires a data processing agreement. It is also worth settling where the data is stored, whether it is used to train the provider’s models and what happens to it when the cooperation ends.
Where does the data come from, and how good is it? A customer list is only as good as the information behind it. Outdated data, mistakes in company names and duplicated contacts end in a call to the wrong person, and in the premium segment such slips are remembered for a long time. Every wrong entry also costs a salesperson’s time.
Ask the provider about the data sources and how often they are updated. Check whether the tool gives reasons for each recommendation and whether a wrong entry can be corrected. The simplest test is a sample of customers the dealership already knows: how many recommendations match what the salespeople know from experience.
Who is responsible for contact with the customer? The tool’s recommendation is only the start of a conversation. Decide in advance that every contact with a customer is approved and led by a salesperson. Nothing is sent automatically. Decide also who corrects the list when salespeople report errors, and who handles an objection or a request to delete data. Settle too how you will know that the tool works: how many conversations it produced, how salespeople rate them, what comments customers have. Write the criteria down before the pilot starts.
It is best to go through these three questions together: the sales team, the person responsible for data protection and the tool provider, before anyone contacts the first customer. It is worth writing the outcome down and checking it again after the pilot.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI contact dealership customers on its own?
Technically yes, but in the premium segment it is rarely a good idea. Contact with the customer should stay with a salesperson who knows the offer and can judge the moment. Marketing contact also needs the recipient’s consent in principle, whether it is sent by a person or by an automated process.
Is finding customers with AI compatible with the GDPR?
The GDPR does not ban such tools, but it requires a legal basis for processing, informing the people whose data is used, and a data processing agreement if the provider processes data on the dealership’s behalf. Compliance depends on how the tool is rolled out, so it is worth involving a data protection officer or a lawyer at the pilot stage.
What data does such a tool need?
Such a tool usually starts from the data the dealership already has, such as enquiries, contact and visit history, and from publicly available information about companies. The scope is worth limiting to what the purpose requires. The less unnecessary data, the easier it is to protect.
Where should a dealer start?
With a small pilot with clear criteria. Set the goal, the scope of data and the people on the dealership side who will assess the recommendations. Decide on a wider rollout only after the pilot.
